During filming for Star Wars' upcoming Disney+ series The Acolyte, one of its stars openly discussed her work in the galaxy far, far away for the first time.
Lucasfilm is moving deeper into production on this intriguing new Disney+ series, which will tackle the High Republic era of Star Wars' story for the first time on the big or small screen.
Thus far, production has been kept largely under wraps ahead of The Acolyte's 2024 release on Disney, save for comments by Squid Games star Lee Jung-jae comparing his experience filming this show to filming in his home country of Japan.
And while the story has received plenty of hype from the outside, even from the sequel trilogy's Daisy Ridley, comments from the cast and crew haven't been a regular occurrence as Lucasfilm and Disney work on this mysterious adventure.
The Acolyte Star Discusses Work on Disney+
Speaking with Collider during press rounds for Netflix's Murder Mystery 2, Jodi Turner-Smith dove into her work on Star Wars' The Acolyte for the first time.
Working with her favorite director that she's ever worked with in South Korean-American filmmaker Kongonada "under the leadership of Leslye Headland," Turner-Smith teased that this series won't be something light-hearted like her past work:
"Obviously, the subject matter is different. It’s different when everything that you’re doing is light-hearted, and that’s not what I was doing for Star Wars. But I was working with my favorite director that I’ve worked with so far, Kogonada, and under the leadership of Leslye Headland. It is incredible to see. I can’t wait to see how this show turns out."
She also noted that she won't appear on screen with leading series star Amandla Stenberg, although she praised the young star while noting that the series is "nothing that anyone has seen before inside of that universe:"
"Amandla [Stenberg] is such an incredible performer. I, unfortunately, didn’t have any scenes with her, but I got to see a little bit of what they’ve been doing, and I think it’s gonna be epic, and it’s nothing that anyone has seen before inside of that universe."
She was also asked if she gets to use Star Wars' iconic lightsaber, to which she responded that she's "not a Jedi," though she teased that she'll be using something exciting in place of that:
"I didn’t get to use a lightsaber… but I did… not get to use a lightsaber. Because I am not a Jedi!"
What Role Is Turner-Smith Playing in Disney+'s The Acolyte?
With Jodi Turner-Smith indicating that she's not playing a Jedi in The Acolyte, which will take place about a century prior to the events of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, questions will be asked about who exactly she'll play in this series.
Rumors have pointed to another Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew, bringing in the Nightsisters from the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars as the franchise dives deeper into more mystical elements of the lore.
This could potentially be laid out earlier in The Acolyte with the series going back so far into Star Wars history, especially since that kind of power hasn't been explored in a live-action setting yet.
And with this series diving into a timeline that fans have hyped up, only time will tell how the casting plays out, especially pertaining to the powers that will be seen on the small screen.
The Acolyte is set to release on Disney+ sometime in 2024.
